Preparation and characterization of molybdenum disulfide films obtained by one-step atomic layer deposition method

Abstract High crystalline MoS 2 films are prepared by one-step ALD without followed high-temperature annealing. MoCl 5 and H 2 S are used as precursors, while Si and Al 2 O 3 are used as substrates respectively. The obtained MoS 2 films are characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), indicating they possess structures in high quality. Experimental results demonstrate the film grain sizes can be tuned from ~ 20 nm to ~ 100 nm at various growth temperatures from 420 °C to 480 °C and excellent crystal performance can be guaranteed from 430 °C to 470 °C. Meanwhile, the growth temperature should not exceed 480 °C due to decomposition of the functional groups. Furthermore, Al 2 O 3 can do better than Si as a substrate for the film building for more necessary hydroxyls during initial reaction on its surface. The average growth rate of the high crystallinity MoS 2 film is ~ 4.3 A/cycle for Al 2 O 3 substrate and ~ 3.8 A/cycle for Si substrate.